The application of templates is a common and popular manner of manipulating digital images. A template refers to graphics added to a digital image to give some kind of effect. An example of a template is the addition of borders to give the effect that the image is inside a picture frame. Another example is the addition of text, such as “Happy Birthday,” placed with the image.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional system for applying templates to digital images. The system 100 includes a digital camera 110 which captures digital images 120 and stores them. The camera 110 can be interfaced with a computer 130 through a serial port or some other type of connection mechanism 140. The computer has image processing software and page layout software for the manipulation of the digital images. Templates 150 are stored in the computer 130. The user, using the software, manually applies a template to a digital image, including any manipulation of the template and/or the image so that they fit together properly in a print area, or an area in which the resulting image will reside. Such manipulations include cropping, rotating, stretching, and justifying. The resulting image can be displayed via a printer 160.
One problem with the conventional system 100 is the requirement for extensive user interface. The application of the template must be manually performed by the user. This is cumbersome for the user, and with numerous images, would require a tremendous amount of time and effort. Another problem is that the templates store the actual graphics data that is applied to the image. Even if two or more templates have a common graphical component, such as a frame around the image, that component must be replicated and incorporated into each template. Graphic intensive templates, or large numbers of templates, thus require large amounts of storage space and significant processing time. This storage space and processing time requirement is cumbersome and costly.
Other conventional systems include the application of templates in a printer rather than a computer, or in a camera for direct print to a printer. However, for all of these conventional systems, templates may only merge graphics with the image and do not merge graphics which lay on top or behind the image. Thus, complex graphical effects are not possible.
Thus, there exists a need for a method and system for applying templates to digital images which reduces the required amount of user time for the interface, requires less storage space, and is capable of applying complex graphical effects to the image. The present invention addresses such a need.